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While summer officially began just a couple of weeks ago, many retailers are already putting their summer merchandise on sale and to the clearance racks dismissing this summer as a complete wash.

Department stores like Macy’s have discounted summer clothing and swimwear down 50%. Other retailers have slashed the prices of barbecue grills, tents, gardening tools, and piles of clothing. Some of those items are going straight to liquidation rather than to the retail stores.

This is good for people trying to save some money, but it is a bad sign for retailers as it shows that retail sales have been weakening since the end of May.

Consumer confidence increased in April and May, but is predicted to level off for the month of June. The figures, which come out later today, won’t be helped by the major retailers releasing June sales results next week. Consumer spending makes up 70% of the economy and if consumers are worried about the economic condition, chances are that spending won’t increase too much in the near future.

Fall merchandise will start hitting shelves in August, so these retailers are trying to move summer merchandise to make room. This could mean that we’ll see more discounts like we did last year for clothing.

Some are blaming the weather, which has been particularly rainy for parts of the country. The rain has led to unseasonable weather. However, where I live, it has been unbearably hot with little rain to help. Then again, when I go through the “summer” section of any local stores, the shelves have been nearly picked clean.

Some are still worried about the economy and think it’s to blame for the lack of consumer spending. Employers are still cutting jobs (even if it is at a slower rate than the beginning of the year) and the average price for a home is still falling.

Jeremy

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